The Israeli and Slovak Defense Ministries signed a defense export agreement in which Israel will deliver 17 radar systems produced by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) to the Slovak Ministry of Defense in an agreement that amounts to approximately €148 million.
In a celebratory ceremony held on Thursday at the Slovak Ministry of Defense in Bratislava, Slovak National Armaments Director Jozef Zekucia and Head of the Directorate of International Defense Cooperation (SIBAT) in the Ministry of Defense, Brig. Gen. (Res.) Yair Kulas signed a first-of-its-kind agreement between the two countries for the procurement of 17 IAI radars.
The agreement includes the transfer of technology and knowledge from Israel to Slovakia, as well as industrial cooperation. The radar components will be manufactured in collaboration with defense industries in Slovakia, under the guidance of IAI and the Ministry of Defense.
The flagship Multi-Mission Radar (MMR) will provide the Slovak defense establishment with a complete aerial situational assessment.
The radar detects airborne threats, classifies them, calculates their threat level and provides essential data that enables systems to neutralize multiple threats simultaneously.
Some 150 of these radars have been sold to various nations.
These radar systems will be interoperable with NATO defense mechanisms.
Defense Minister Benny Gantz crowned the deal as a “significant milestone in the growing cooperation between Israeli and Slovak defense industries.”
The agreement “first and foremost provides Slovakia with high-quality, advanced systems to maintain their national security, while also strengthening defense industries and creating many new jobs in Israel and Slovakia,” he said.
Slovak Minister of Defense Jaroslav Naď thanked the Israeli representatives for “taking a truly pragmatic approach to the negotiations on the procurement of the new 3D radar systems for our Slovak Air Force.”
The discussions “have always been of very high quality, resulting in the final Agreement with satisfaction on both sides. At the same time, I highly value the positive impact of this cooperation on the bilateral ties between our countries in the field of defense and security and I do believe we now have a solid basis for our next cooperation,” he stated.